-
Meeting On Special And Differential Treatment Agrees On How To Proceed
Delegates convened on 23 September for an informal meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) to deal with the procedural matter of how to move forward with the work programme on special and differential treatment (S&D) agreed upon by Members in a report (TN/CTD/3) issued in late July (see BRIDGES Weekly, 8…
-
UK Commission Report Highlights Negative Impacts Of IPRS On Development
The UK Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) — an independent body set up in May 2001 by the British government — released its final report on 12 September, setting out a number of recommendations aimed at aligning intellectual property rights (IPR) protection with efforts to reduce poverty in developing countries. Many civil society groups…
-
DSU Review: Developing Countries Reject US Proposal On Transparency, Suggest Other Options
At a 10-11 September special (negotiating) session of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), the US tabled a proposal outlining its ideas on how to achieve a "more open and transparent process" by opening dispute settlement procedures to the public, providing timely access to submissions and reports, as well as formalising the handling of so-…
-
Developing Country Concerns Emerge At WTO Investment Group
On 16-18 September, WTO Members met in the Working Group on Trade and Investment, where they addressed, inter alia, dispute settlement, foreign direct investment and technology transfer, and exceptions and balance-of-payments safeguards. As at the Working Group’s last meeting on 3-5 July, many developing countries remain sceptical as to the need for an investment regime…
-
WTO CTD To Review Provisions On Economic Development
On 10 September, the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) met informally to discuss the review of Article XVIII of GATT 94 ("Governmental Assistance to Economic Development"), the issue of small economies, and paragraph 51 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration (on reflecting sustainable development in the negotiations). New and/or updated Secretariat documents are expected…
-
WTO Members To Submit Comprehensive Market Access Modalities Proposals By November
Continuing discussions held in August at the last meeting of the Negotiating Group on Market Access (see BRIDGES Weekly, 8 August 2002), Members met on 12-13 September to resume discussions on negotiating modalities on tariffs and non-tariff barriers on non-agricultural products. Positions raised by Members on 12 September closely resembled those that had emerged in…
- In Brief
-
In Brief
EUROPEAN GROUPS RELEASE STATEMENT CONDEMNING WTO INVESTMENT TALKS A statement signed by 40 civil society groups from across Europe was released on 13 September calling on the governments of European countries and the European Commission to withdraw their proposals for investment negotiations within the WTO (see BRIDGES Weekly, 10 July 2002). The statement was released one…
- Events
-
Events
EVENTS For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch. Coming Up This Week: 18-24 September 18-21 September, Edinburgh, UK: GENETIC ENGINEERING AND THE INTRINSIC VALUE AND INTEGRITY OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS. The multidisciplinary…
- Resources
-
Resources
If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy for review by the BRIDGES staff to resources@ictsd.ch. Submissions of publications to ICTSD’s documentation centre would also be welcomed (see mailing address below). "The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: taking the steps…